Joshua Zirkzee Replaces Rasmus Hojlund As Manchester United's New No. 11

Manchester United has unveiled the shirt number of their new signing Joshua Zirkzee. The Netherlands international will don the No. 11 shirt in the upcoming campaign. “Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has been confirmed as the club’s new no.11 ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 season,” the Premier League club shared on its official website on Tuesday, August 6.

Zirkzee has signed a three-year contract with the Red Devils in a deal worth around £36.5 million. The amount is slightly above the €40-million release clause at his former club Bologna.

Before the transfer was completed, several media reports claimed that Zirkzee expressed his desire to wear the No. 9 shirt at Manchester United. The club, however, later decided to give the iconic jersey to Rasmus Hojlund.

The Danish striker had donned the No. 11 shirt in his debut season at the Old Trafford. Before him, Anthony Martial wore the No. 9 jersey. Hojlund will now carry the legacy of club legends like Bobby Charlton, Dimitar Berbatov, Andy Cole and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zirkzee had worn the No. 11 shirt in his debut season at Bologna but was later upgraded to No. 9 in the last campaign. He also played in the No. 11 jersey for Bayern Munich and the Netherlands youth team. Before him, several legendary forwards have played with the No. 11 on their back for Manchester United.

The most prominent of them was Ryan Giggs, who still holds the record for making the most appearances (963) for the club. Apart from him, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sammy McIlroy and Lee Sharpe have also worn United’s No. 11 jersey in the past.

Once the Manchester United deal was confirmed, Zirkzee was asked about his preferred jersey number. The 23-year-old said, “That depends a bit on Rasmus Hojlund. He’s already there and he’s also a striker. No.9 is free, but yes… he has 11, so I can imagine that he wants No.9 now. In that case, I’ll take 11. At Bologna I also had 11, so that doesn’t matter to me,” as quoted by Manchester Evening News.

Zirkzee is expected to appear in his new jersey number when Manchester United face their derby rivals Manchester City in the FA Community Shield final on August 10.

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